Spring break out

Today was my personal first day of Spring migration locally (I missed the first pulse when in Iceland) with a good passage of wildfowl going east past Selsey Bill and also my first moth migrant in the light trap at home. 

Ebird migrant list from the Bill HERE with highlights (all moving east) including 1 first-winter male Eider (now on 122 local year list),  132 Pintail, 141 Shoveler, 86 Brent Goose, 2 Teal, 23 Common Scoter, 7 Red-breasted Mergs, 16 Med Gulls, 22 Common Gulls, 14 Red-throated Diver, 1 Great Northern Diver and 1 Fulmar.  The Black Redstart was singing from the nearby houses and there were a few passerines on the move including a couple of Skylarks, Stock Doves, Rooks and Woodpigeons. 

Back at home, it was mild last night (didn't drop below 9 degrees) and I had my first moth catch of the year with 5 Hebrew Character,  1 Common Quaker, 1 Chestnut, 5 Common Flat Body and also the first migrant of the year- a Pearly Underwing. 

Brents moving back to Russia

Pintails (above) and Pintails and Shovelers (below) on the move. Over 3000 Pintail moved passed Dungeness today , a record breaking number. Wildfowl numbers have been increasing on passage off Selsey and the south coast and some have suggested that more birds are wintering in the south and west now following wetland degradation further south and climate warming further north. There was some discussion on the vis-mig whatsapp group about the origin of these birds. Large numbers of Pintail and Shoveler winter on the Atlantic estuaries of France and Iberia/North Africa (and also in the tropical belt of Africa) so birds moving north could have been pushed over to Dunge in the F4 southeasterly today or birds crossed Biscay and then moved up Channel with even some of our birds from further south although it's possible they have also come from estuaries west of us on the south coast too or both. 

First-winter male Eider (on left) and Pintails 

Common Scoters

Common Gull and Med Gull (both species were on the move today) Med Gulls (below) on the oval field.

Lesser Black-backed Gull- not a common bird at the Bill. Presumably another migrant

Black Redstart- this bird was in full song so presumably a young male 

Pearly Underwing- first migrant of the year 

Hebrew Character 

Common Quaker

Chestnut

Agonopterix sp- maybe heracliana as four other less worn ones, although this one was noticeable larger and the streaking looks more like something like umbellana? 100325 update- these are probably depressaria sp